#Giveaway Interview UNDER THE LIGHTS by DAHLIA ADLER @MissDahlELama @SpencerHillP

1. What is on your nightstand?

I’m answering these questions from my vacation in the Caribbean, but the gist is the same as my nightstand at home—a lamp, several books at once (in this case ARCs of The Escape by Hannah Jayne, Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon, and Don’t Ever Change by M. Beth Bloom), and cookies, made by my husband, who is a ridiculously skilled baker.

2. How much of real life or tabloids did you cull to write Behind the Scenes and Under the Lights?

The books really came from someplace in between—imagining the real life behind the tabloids. I spent a ton of time on People.com looking at the paparazzi pics and thinking about the scenes behind them, where they get followed, taking note of all the stuff they can’t do without being watched and photographed. I watched YouTube videos of actors on set, showing off their trailers and where they get their makeup done. So it’s kind of a combination. No storyline was pulled directly from a tabloid, though the storyline of Ally’s father’s illness was inspired by my own experience from when I was in college.

3. What author would you fan girl?

Definitely Melina Marchetta. I’ve been so incredibly lucky to meet and/or interact regularly with nearly all my favorite authors but Melina Marchetta is a top 3 for me and I’ve never spoken to her and I can’t even imagine how much I’d freak out at meeting her. I’d probably just manage to breathe out the words “Jellicoe Road” and then I’d pass out at her feet.

4. What makes you cringe?

General cruelty, especially to fans. Seeing the words “skank” or “slut” used without a trace of irony. Bad author behavior. Heights with a steep decline. Furry bugs.

5. Do you obsessively plot out each point or just go with the flow?

I mostly go with the flow, but I tend to obsessively plot the big stuff, by which I obviously mean the kissing! When I write a book for National Novel Writing Month (aka NaNoWriMo), I’m a much stricter plotter, and that’s how I wrote both Behind the Scenes and Under the Lights. But then I ripped out most of what I wrote of UtL and going with the flow definitely worked better!